The 32nd Congressional District race features a self-described new Democrat making his first run for public office and a powerful, veteran incumbent from the traditional conservative wing of the Republican Party.

The reason the race between Democrat Colin Allred and Pete Sessions is attracting so much attention is a direct result of the 2016 election, when Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump in the Dallas-area district. That signaled to progressives that, perhaps, the district had evolved enough to give a Democrat a chance.

Allred is a black millennial who once played in the NFL and now wants to help bring universal health care to Americans. Sessions is a staunch baby boomer conservative in what was a heavily Republican district who says the Affordable Care Act was a mistake and the country's economy can't afford progressive ideas.

But issues won't be the major motivator in this closely watched race.

The contest could turn on the candidates' cultural and generational differences, as well as the demographic changes in a district originally drawn to assure Sessions' re-election. And behind the scenes is the aftermath of Trump's historic election and whether the backlash from his detractors impacts Republicans like Sessions.

Allred became the Democratic nominee by offering something different, while Sessions promises to continue the conservative policies he says are working.

A new Democrat

Allred, 35, was largely unknown on the Texas political scene until he announced he would challenge Sessions. The former Tennessee Titans player breezed through crowded field in the Democratic primary by promising to bring more voters to the process, while also appealing to voters dissatisfied with Trump.

Allred's "Hillcrest High School to serving President Barack Obama" mantra has resonated with progressive residents excited by his vow to push for universal health care, improve public education and make the economy work for all residents. He is the most left-leaning major congressional candidate in North Texas.

Though he says the election will turn on issues like health care and the economy, his strength involves the uniqueness of his candidacy. He's a millennial with a smattering of political experience. His mentors are former state Sen. Wendy Davis and former U.S. Housing Secretary Julian Castro, for whom he served as a special assistant.

In New York, another progressive candidate, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, motivated left-leaning Democrats in route to upending a 20-year Democratic incumbent. Allred has the same type of appeal.

To win, he has to turn out new Democratic voters to offset Sessions' structural advantage. During the primary Democrats opined on the need to appeal to crossover voters, but the ideological differences between the candidates make luring support from the other party nearly impossible.

So where does Allred find votes?

Colin Allred spoke to supporters during an election night party at Ozona Grill and Bar in Dallas on May 22, 2018, after he won the Democratic nomination in the 32nd Congressional District. Now he faces longtime U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions.

(Andy Jacobsohn/Staff Photographer)

The trendy areas of Uptown offer a bounty of urban hipsters and new, younger voters likely to choose a Democrat. He'll also have an opportunity to attract transplants from blue states like California living in the so-called freeway corridors, including just south of Interstate 635.

But these potential voters are unlikely to show up in normal midterm elections, which could be challenging for Allred. Yet his grassroots campaign appeared stout in the primary, and the Trump backlash and Democratic enthusiasm could flood the polls with unlikely voters.

If there is a prodigious blue wave, Sessions will be swept out of office.

Still a conservative district

Sessions and Republicans have pushed back against the narrative that he's in trouble simply because Hillary Clinton won his district against Trump.

He has a point.

In that same election he was unopposed and outpolled Clinton. That's just part of the good news for the incumbent. Every major Republican candidate, with the exception of Trump, won in the district. That included sheriff's candidate Kirk Launius, the former Dallas police officer and 2016 GOP nominee for Dallas County sheriff who was trounced by incumbent Lupe Valdez. Republican House members Jason Villalba, Morgan Meyer, Linda Koop, Cindy Burkett and Angie Chen Button also won in the district, suggesting that down-ballot candidates didn't get caught up in a Trump backlash.

Sessions, 63, is a veteran, tenacious campaigner with strong connections to the GOP and business establishment in the district. He'll rely heavily on strongholds in Richardson, Garland, Rowlett and Sachse.

His challenge is to convince business types that no longer identify with the party of Trump to stick with the Republican label for his contest against Allred. And it would be troubling for the Republican if the coordinated effort by Dallas County Democrats up and down the ballot, along with statewide candidates like Senate hopeful Beto O'Rourke and gubernatorial nominee Lupe Valdez, helped boost voter totals.

But if Sessions effectively turns out his Republican base, he'll be hard to beat. And it will be tough for Allred to tap into the incumbent's core support. He's casting Allred as a California-type liberal who would support House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as speaker and threaten the economic prosperity in the district with liberal policies, including universal health care.

U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions speaks at a campaign kickoff event at the Highland Dallas hotel on June 23, 2018. Sessions, a Republican, is running against Democrat Colin Allred.

(Andy Jacobsohn/Staff Photographer)

Like other compelling races in Texas, the contrast between the candidates is clear.

Sessions, chairman of the House Rules Committee, hasn't had a major challenge since beating former Democratic Rep. Martin Frost in 2004. At that time the district was heavily Republican.

Sessions is in the toughest fight of his congressional career, and it's one that doesn't look like any of the others he's had.